How an Air Purifier at Home Could Help Lower Your Blood Pressure

How an Air Purifier at Home Could Help Lower Your Blood Pressure

Air pollution can increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart issues.
New research shows that using at-home air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters might help reduce blood pressure for some people living near busy roads.

HEPA Air Filters May Reduce Blood Pressure

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that using HEPA air purifiers at home for a month lowered systolic blood pressure (SBP) by an average of 3 mm Hg in adults with elevated blood pressure.


The study involved 154 participants who lived within 200 meters of a major road and weren’t taking any blood pressure medications.


Doug M. Brugge, PhD, the lead author of the study and professor and chair of the department of public health sciences at UConn Health, said, “Elevated blood pressure is one of the leading causes of illness and death, so even small changes in blood pressure are impactful.”


The study's findings match a 2020 review that found in-home air purifiers reduced SBP by about 4 mm Hg.
Research shows that lowering SBP by just 5 mm Hg can reduce stroke deaths by 14% and cardiovascular events by 10%.

The study found no significant effect on diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number in a blood pressure reading.
Brugge explained that this was expected because systolic blood pressure is more sensitive to short-term changes.

Why Air Pollution Raises Blood Pressure

Fine particulate matter, which is about 30 times smaller than the width of a strand of human hair, can enter homes from cars and factories.


Breathing in traffic pollution can stress the body by increasing heart rate and narrowing blood vessels.
Over time, it can also damage arteries, raising the risk of high blood pressure, according to Karishma Patwa, MD, a board-certified cardiologist at Manhattan Cardiology.

Wildfire smoke is another major source of indoor particulate matter.
A recent study in Montana found that during four or more wildfire days, systolic blood pressure rose by 3.83 mm Hg and diastolic by 2.36 mm Hg.

In 2015, fine particulate matter was responsible for 4.2 million global deaths—over half from cardiovascular disease.